CCTA to Sue Arroyo for Poll Fraud before UN Human Rights Body

BY BULATLAT

Posted 2:55 p.m. May 10, 2006

The Citizens’ Congress for Truth and Accountability (CCTA) will file electoral fraud  charges against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before the United Nations (UN) International Human Rights Committee under the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Neri Javier Colmenares, one of the group’s lawyers-presentors, told media earlier today.

The CCTA, in its report presented this morning at the Club Filipino, found Arroyo guilty of electoral fraud among other offenses including corruption, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution.

Among the charges against Arroyo were inaction to political killings perpetrated by state forces, diversion of funds, engaging in questionable contracts like the Venable deal and the NorthRail project.

The report said that Arroyo “deliberately cheated” her way to victory in the 2004 presidential election.

“The cheating was a violation of civil and political rights,” said former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., chairman of the CCTA Presidium. Guingona said that the contents of the 203-page report are serious enough to be used as bases for filing a case before the UN rights body.

The CCTA was initiated by non-government and people’s organizations and opposition parties in 2005 after impeachment complaints against Arroyo were dismissed at the House of Representatives. 

Colmenares, who is also the spokesperson of the broad-based Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), said that the CCTA will be filing the charges together with individual petitioners. He added that they will gather as many petitioners as possible.

“In electoral fraud we are all injured parties,” Colmenares said. “So anyone can be a petitioner in this case.” 

Guingona also said that the results of the CCTA proceedings can be used as support documents for the second impeachment complaint against Arroyo. Bulatlat

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